Period Underwear Ads Set to Take Williamsburg Next Month

Last week, menstrual-underwear maker Thinx said it was having a hard time getting its subway ads past the MTA’s advertising gatekeeper Outfront Media. Outfront initially told Thinx that the ads’ egg-and-grapefruit imagery imagery seemed “inappropriate,” but a spokesperson for the MTA downplayed the exchange, telling the New York Times that the ads would go through. Now, after social media outrage about the dust-up, Thinx CEO Miki Agrawal reports that the ads have been approved.

The ad campaign will take over the entire Bedford Avenue L train station starting on Monday, November 9. Launching in Williamsburg was a strategic decision, Agrawal told the Cut: “All these creative-type people are there, there’s a lot of cool co-working spaces. It’s the creative mavens — the people who change culture, the culture-shifters. They’re all at the Bedford L subway stop.”

The images will be seen by an even wider group of riders next year. In February, Agrawal says that the Thinx ads will appear in one of every ten subway cars, taking over one side of the interior.

For those who were unfamiliar with the company before last week, Thinx makes what it calls “period-proof” underwear using a patented four-layer system that wicks away fluid and traps it inside until cleaned. They can be used as a leak- and stain-resistant backup to tampons or menstrual cups, or be worn alone if you prefer. The four styles — including a new sport option near to Agrawal’s heart as a former collegiate and pro soccer player — come in black or nude, but both colors smartly have a black gusset. “It’s beautiful lace underwear … there’s no ‘this or that,’ it’s ‘and.’ It can function and look great.”